I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an assembly device for laminated glazing elements, comprising at least two laminated glazing elements each consisting of several individual glazing elements which are rigid and assembled to one another at the surface by means of bonding layers, which succeed one another in a direction of extension, partially overlapping in contiguous edge regions in perpendicular projection on the faces of the glazing elements, and are assembled to one another in this limited overlap region on the edge side.
II. Discussion of the Background
Document DE-A1-198 16 099 describes an assembly device of this kind, in particular for laminated glazing elements, in which, according to one embodiment, two laminated glazing elements placed parallel and at a distance from one another enclose between them with an overlap, close to their rims, a third laminated glazing element. In the region of the overlap, the three laminated glazing elements are assembled with the aid of a bolt, which passes through the three laminated glazing elements. The corresponding holes in the three laminated glazing elements do not necessarily have to be axially aligned because, according to this known solution, a mass of curable sealant which coats said bolt may totally compensate for the tolerances on the positions of the holes. After it has cured, this mass of sealant withstands the forces exerted on the walls of the holes. This assembly device is provided in particular for what is known as the glass stringer assembly, that is to say the assembly of elongated reinforcement elements consisting of several glass beams of composite structure, mainly in glazed facades.
It is also known practice to cause to protrude, on the edge side, outside the glass composite, assembly elements for edge-to-edge assemblies of laminated glazing elements. Thus, document DE-C 1 203 924 describes a laminated safety glass consisting of two rigid glass glazing elements and of a layer of adhesive that assembles them to one another. The edge of one of the two rigid glazing elements markedly protrudes beyond the edge of the other glazing element. The layer of adhesive ends with a recess in front of the edge of the smaller rigid glazing element. The gap that remains is filled with a mass of sealant made of a silicone elastomer, which again protrudes in the form of an elongated rim beyond the protrusion of the larger rigid glazing element and which may contain a metal brace. It is used to attach the laminated glazing element to a frame or similar without drilling into the rigid glazing elements (of glass) themselves. This assembly device was devised mainly for the assembly of laminated glazing elements in airplanes.
In another assembly device for laminated glazing elements (DE-C1-199 58 372), the (central) glazing elements, each time internal, consist, in the edge regions of laminated glazing elements, of at least three rigid glazing elements, shorter than the external glazing elements. A rigid retention element, for example a steel plate, whose thickness corresponds to the thickness of said central glazing element is inserted into the gap that remains. It is thus possible to incorporate this retention element into the composite during the assembly process (autoclave or similar method). As an assembly element, use can be made for this purpose of the thermoplastic adhesive films used in any case between the rigid glazing elements. These laminated glazing elements may be attached to a framework without holes in the rigid glazing elements with the aid of the protruding retention element.
Besides the solution mentioned in the introduction to compensate for the tolerances of the walls of the holes when attaching bolts or sleeves in the holes passing through the multilayer composite glazing elements (each time with two external glazing elements and at least one central glazing element), yet other solutions are known from documents DE 100 55 983 C1 and DE 100 63 547 C1. Both relate to a positioning of sleeves with eccentric sleeves, for which, in the first document, the hole in the central glazing element is smaller than the holes in the external glazing elements, while in the second solution the hole in the central glazing element is larger than that in the external glazing elements.